Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 13
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 PM
Colorado State
17-8,13-3Mountain West
3
vs
0
Fresno State
11-13,7-9Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Fresno St.
23
22
23
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
Seniors Dig Final Home Match
11/13/2021 2:31:00 PM | Volleyball
Rams sweep past Fresno State
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The home season came to an end for Colorado State women's volleyball team and the Rams said goodbye to the seniors and welcomed new starters to the court.
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Leading the conference 12-3 prior to their Saturday afternoon contest against Fresno State, the match held even more meaning as seniors Alexa Roumeliotis and Alyssa Bert made their last appearance in Moby Arena.
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And despite the Bulldogs' conference record of 7-8, the team had already handed the Rams a loss on the road in September in a four-set bout.
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"I know we play better in Moby," Karina Leber said. "I was just ready to win."
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The first set yielded results. The Rams took the first frame 25-23, before sweeping the match (25-22, 25-23) to bring their conference record to 13-3. The team hit .289 for the first set, with Annie Sullivan and Leber leading the team in kills with four each.
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By the second frame, Colorado State was in the mindset to close out the match, but so was their opponent. The Bulldogs found their stride and kept the Rams low on the scoreboard, making the team work even harder to pull ahead.
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But, with an underdog win, the team pulled ahead and took the second set for themselves, with Leber sealing the set with a kill.
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Individually, the Rams excelled. Kennedy Stanford held two service aces and sophomore Barrett Power not only set a season high in assists with 38, but she also held a hitting percentage of .667 for the match all while covering for starter Ciera Pritchard, who was out with an illness, joining head coach Tom Hilbert as an observer.
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"It was fun," Power said. "You never want to see a teammate not be able to play, that's really hard. But I prepare every day like I'm the starter so when my number is called, I was ready, and it was fun."
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The third set locked in the sweep of the Bulldogs, though there were six ties and three lead changes.
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For the match, the team sported a kill percentage of .365 and a .235 hitting percentage, all to the liking of the coaching staff.
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"Our serving and passing was absolutely the difference maker," associate head coach Emily Kohan said. "That's been a key for us all year long in all our victories. The servers got after it and the passers took some pressure off of Barrett and got it in the system, and she was dishing balls to the middles; it was a really great serve and pass game."
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The seniors did their part, with Roumeliotis leading the Rams with 14 digs, while Bert added 10. Sullivan led the team with 13 kills, including the match-ending attack, with Kennedy and Leber adding nine each.
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With the team finished at Moby Arena, there are only two games remaining before the Mountain West Tournament. The team will take on Utah State on Thursday.
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To conclude the conference season, the team takes on Boise State on November 20. Previously, Colorado State swept both teams in September.
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"Our whole theme has been growing toward the Mountain West tournament championship and being able to play in the NCAA tournament and being our best," Kohan said. "That was big because people had big performances even with Ciera out. I think that gave us a lot of confidence that we can do this no matter what."
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Leading the conference 12-3 prior to their Saturday afternoon contest against Fresno State, the match held even more meaning as seniors Alexa Roumeliotis and Alyssa Bert made their last appearance in Moby Arena.
Â
And despite the Bulldogs' conference record of 7-8, the team had already handed the Rams a loss on the road in September in a four-set bout.
Â
"I know we play better in Moby," Karina Leber said. "I was just ready to win."
Â
The first set yielded results. The Rams took the first frame 25-23, before sweeping the match (25-22, 25-23) to bring their conference record to 13-3. The team hit .289 for the first set, with Annie Sullivan and Leber leading the team in kills with four each.
Â
By the second frame, Colorado State was in the mindset to close out the match, but so was their opponent. The Bulldogs found their stride and kept the Rams low on the scoreboard, making the team work even harder to pull ahead.
Â
But, with an underdog win, the team pulled ahead and took the second set for themselves, with Leber sealing the set with a kill.
Â
Individually, the Rams excelled. Kennedy Stanford held two service aces and sophomore Barrett Power not only set a season high in assists with 38, but she also held a hitting percentage of .667 for the match all while covering for starter Ciera Pritchard, who was out with an illness, joining head coach Tom Hilbert as an observer.
Â
"It was fun," Power said. "You never want to see a teammate not be able to play, that's really hard. But I prepare every day like I'm the starter so when my number is called, I was ready, and it was fun."
Â
The third set locked in the sweep of the Bulldogs, though there were six ties and three lead changes.
Â
For the match, the team sported a kill percentage of .365 and a .235 hitting percentage, all to the liking of the coaching staff.
Â
"Our serving and passing was absolutely the difference maker," associate head coach Emily Kohan said. "That's been a key for us all year long in all our victories. The servers got after it and the passers took some pressure off of Barrett and got it in the system, and she was dishing balls to the middles; it was a really great serve and pass game."
Â
The seniors did their part, with Roumeliotis leading the Rams with 14 digs, while Bert added 10. Sullivan led the team with 13 kills, including the match-ending attack, with Kennedy and Leber adding nine each.
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With the team finished at Moby Arena, there are only two games remaining before the Mountain West Tournament. The team will take on Utah State on Thursday.
Â
To conclude the conference season, the team takes on Boise State on November 20. Previously, Colorado State swept both teams in September.
Â
"Our whole theme has been growing toward the Mountain West tournament championship and being able to play in the NCAA tournament and being our best," Kohan said. "That was big because people had big performances even with Ciera out. I think that gave us a lot of confidence that we can do this no matter what."
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Team Stats
Fresno
CSU
Kills
40
42
Errors
19
15
Attempts
117
115
Hitting %
.179
.235
Points
53
53
Assists
37
41
Aces
7
4
Blocks
6
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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